🚨URGENT🚨 Raleigh County Board Votes 4–1 to Close Our Schools — What’s at Stake and What We Must Do
Dear Supporters, Neighbors, friends & loved ones of mine.
Last night, the Raleigh County Board of Education voted 4–1 to move forward with the permanent closure and consolidation of our community elementary schools. Despite hours of testimony from devoted teachers, emotional parents, and young students reading handwritten letters pleading to save their classrooms, the board chose budget balance sheets over the well-being of our children.
This vote is a devastating blow, but it is not the final word. The West Virginia State Board of Education must review and vote on these proposed closures before anything is set in stone. Now is the time to raise our voices louder than ever.
The Proposed Closures & Reassignments
Here is exactly what the board approved last night:
Mabscott Elementary School: Permanently closed. Students will be divided and rezoned into Crescent Elementary and Hollywood Elementary. To accommodate these extra students, the Severe Disabilities Program currently based at Hollywood Elementary will be displaced and relocated to Beckley Elementary.
Cranberry-Prosperity Elementary School: Permanently closed. The student body will be split across three separate schools: Bradley Elementary, Maxwell Hill Elementary, and Stanaford Elementary.
What Is Really at Stake: The Children Behind the Numbers
These are not underutilized empty halls; these are community anchors serving some of the most vulnerable children in West Virginia. The board's plan completely ignores the realities our families face every single day:
Bullet Severe Economic Hardship & Poverty: Both Mabscott and Cranberry-Prosperity are high-poverty, Title I community schools where staff provide far more than instruction. For hundreds of children, these schools provide guaranteed hot meals, clean clothes, winter coats, hygiene items, and emergency weekend food pantries. When you close a neighborhood school in an economically distressed community, you sever the vital trust and safety nets that keep families afloat.
Bullet Special Education & Displaced Services: A substantial percentage of the children attending these schools rely on Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), 504 plans, Title I reading and math interventions, speech therapy, and behavioral health supports. For children dealing with trauma, severe developmental delays, autism spectrum conditions, or sensory processing challenges, familiar routines and trusted staff are essential. Shuffling them into larger, unfamiliar, and crowded facilities—or physically moving specialized classrooms across town—triggers severe behavioral regressions and sets their academic progress back by years.
Bullet Grandparents Raising Grandchildren & Working Families: Countless Raleigh County students are being raised by grandparents, elderly relatives on fixed incomes, or working parents without reliable private transportation. Longer bus routes, earlier pickup times, and schools located miles away make it nearly impossible for these guardians to attend parent-teacher conferences, pick up a sick child, or handle medical emergencies quickly.
Why Your Signature Matters Right Now
The county board made their stance clear, but state officials in Charleston need to see that Raleigh County refuses to let our neighborhood schools be quietly dismantled. A massive, active petition gives us undeniable leverage when presenting our formal objections, community impact documentation, and alternative solutions to the West Virginia Board of Education.
Two Things You Can Do Today:
1. Sign and Share This Petition: Please take two minutes to sign, and share this page directly to your Facebook, local community groups, church congregations, and with neighbors. Every single verified signature strengthens our record before the state board.
2. Connect With Me Directly: If you are a parent, educator, school service personnel member, or community advocate with specific stories, documentation, or concerns about special education disruptions or safety hazards, please reach out. Use the contact information listed directly on this petition organizer profile to get in touch. We are organizing parent meetings, gathering formal public comments, and coordinating representation for the upcoming state review.
Our children are human beings with futures, not line items on an administrative spreadsheet. Let’s stand united and protect Raleigh County public education.
Hannah Foster: Community Advocate
☎️304-712-8152